De Beers Mothballing Canadian Mine Due to Poor Market

De Beers is suspending work at the Snap Lake mine, located in Canada’s Northwest Territories, in response to current market conditions.

During the care and maintenance period, environmental monitoring at the mine will continue. More than 400 mine employees will be laid off during the maintenance period.

De Beers’ second-half sales will be its lowest in 30 years, one analyst said recently. Local news accounts also blamed a groundwater issue for the closure.

“The men and women at Snap Lake have put enormous effort into this challenging ore body over many years, but even the gains made this year are not enough to overcome the market conditions and put us in a profitable position,” Kim Truter, De Beers Canada CEO, said in a statement.